Tuesday, 19 September 2017

Travel Tuesday: Things You Might Not Know About Poland

Dearest sweethearts,

Any day is a good day to travel and any moment is a good moment to plan an escape. I believe that life is meant to be lived next to the ones you love, making memories and collecting precious moments. It's a plus if one gets to have a good job, in which they are comfortable living in 1/3 of the day. Bit let's face it, even if we love our job we still want a break from it, from time to time. We want a breath of fresh air, we want to see new places and learn new things. Being an expat helped me afford more breathes of fresh air, due to the fact that I am living in a different country, where I always find something new and interesting. Today is #traveltuesday and I wanted to share with you some things that you might not know about Poland - hopefully to churn your interest and make you come here ;) it's such a lovely country to visit, no matter the season! So... #DidYouKnow that...

Krakowian ladies, Krakow Old Town, Poland

1. Poland shares borders with no less than 7 countries: (Mother) Russia, Lithuania, Belarus, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Ukraine and Germany. It also previously shared borders with Romania! My grandpa remembered the times when they were taught that ;)

2. The Polish King Kazimierz Jagiellonczyk was known as "Father of Europe". He had 9 children that helped shape Europe as we know it today: one became a cardinal, 4 became kings, one was canonized and the 3 daughters were all married off (as the times demanded) and they became mothers of the heirs of the greatest dynasties in West Europe ;) Talk about lineage!

3. The only European country that never officially collaborated with the Nazis at any level was Poland! No Polish units fought alongside the Nazi army. Poland never officially surrendered to Germany. The largest resistance movement in Europe was the Polish resistance movement in the German occupied Poland, during the Second World War.
4. November 3rd, 1939 - the very first death sentence of the Second World War. It was passed by the Nazis on 2 Polish women who dared to defy the order and torn down Nazi placards.

Marie Curie

5. 17 Nobel Prizes were won by Polish people. That's more than Japan, China, India or Australia ;) not to brag... But... that's also 4 Peace prizes, 5 in Literature and 2 Nobel Prizes for the wonderfully talented Marie Curie!
6. The Jagiellonian University in Krakow was established by King Casimir III the Great. 1364 was the great year and it is the oldest Uni in Poland, 2nd oldest in Central Europe.

Wawel Castle - inner courtyard, Krakow, Poland

7. The oldest restaurant in Europe, opened in 1275 and still functioning, is located in Wroclaw - "Piwnica Swidnicka".
8. The first European constitution and the 2nd one worldwide, after the one in the USA on the 3rd of May 1791, was the Polish Constitution. It had effects only 14 months and 3 weeks, being the "last will and testament of the expiring Country" and of Polish sovereignty, right before Poland entered into the 123 years of partition.
9. The magical city of Krakow, in which I'm proudly living, was the headquarter and the place of coronation of Polish kings & the nation's capital from 1038 until it moved to Warsaw in 1596.

Displays of human possessions, Auschwitz, Poland

10. This very day, 19th September 1940, Witold Pilecki was voluntarily captured and sent to Auschwitz to smuggle out information and start a resistance?